happy father's day!

it's amazing to journey into parenthood. it's amazing to watch your spouse grow into a parent alongside you...for me, my love for brian has increased exponentially since having garrett (& becoming pregnant w/ baby girl).

brian, you're a wonderful in father in so many ways. you give so much of yourself in being a dad by caring for garrett in any way he needs & in the fun ways that will make your relationship with him unique. i know you will be the same with our little girl, in fact we'll see a new side of you as a dad to a daughter, i would think. :-) thank you for giving to our family as a father. we are blessed that you are ours! happy father's day! love, your biggest fans (beth & garrett) :-)

my seasonal color reminds me of my grandfather. the only one i ever knew. as long as i can remember, his yard each summer had marigolds. they make me happy & remind me of the countless days & nights i spent enjoying his laughter (which was endless) & love...being his *jewel*. there's something so incredibly special in the grandparent relationship.

it's amazing to watch your own father become a grandfather to your child (even though I'd watched him with my nephew & niece for years; same with brian's dad & our nephew). but seeing them love your child is a beautiful experience. my dad's very quiet...his play is intentional & patient with garrett...since dad usually finishes a meal first, he's the first to get up & walk w/ the kids in a restaurant, to spend hours upon hours pushing a wagon around or going on long (slow, in garrett's case) walks around their yard. happy father's day, dad - i love you! (garrett 9 months old)

garrett said, "don't even think about moving me from this man's lap!" (garrett 3.5 months old). brian's dad is quite gregarious...he has a special song for garrett ("hurrah for garrett!") & is constantly teaching garrett a new sound or showing him how to ride a broom like a horsey. we love you, gary - garrett can't wait to see you later this week!

after pictures with daddy this afternoon, garrett went on a stroll through our front bed.

dirty, dirty boy!

 

with summer temps in full oppression, being outside & getting wet is a fun end of the day activity for our little man. the sun burns bright on the back of our house until close to 5 PM these days, so it's usually a great diversion as we wait for brian to get home as well.

today garrett & i popped out for a while & filled the pool, water table, squirt bottle, etc. but his biggest point of interest was the potted tree on the patio. our sweet friends dustin & kelly jo gave it to garrett for his birthday (six months ago) & for whatever reason, he picked today to go & plow through all the dirt in the pot! this kid just makes me laugh...he had a bath afterwards, but i still had to swab (with safety swabs!) the dirt out of the outer part of his right ear. (click on the picture above for a closer view.)

up tomorrow?...18 month dr visit - boo! - but brian's taking the day off so we hope to have a fun day regardless of the shots & 96 degree temps that are predicted.

my baby love

my baby love...no, not the little girl in my belly. though, i do love her & am becoming more & more anxious to see her! my first baby love...brian. this september we'll have been an official couple for 15 years...married for 10 in november. & while the road hasn't always been smooth, & while we've had to work (@ some times harder than others) @ our marriage, brian's STILL my favorite person. :-)

before garrett was born, we went away to grand bahama island for several days...a "babymoon". since we were just away with garrett @ the beach last month, we decided simply to spend a weekend in atlanta, just the two of us, b/f baby girl comes on the scene. we realize that the more children we add to our little brew, the more of a challenge our alone time will become. & b/w all the demands currently in our life, we both were dying to get into this weekend - we both needed this time away & with just one another.

i'm so grateful for those couples we have watched be married & parent who are long ahead of us & just ahead of us, walking beside us even. those couples who have been consistent in creating space for themselves - sometimes before creating space to be parents. ultimately, our children arrive b/c of our love for one another...and in the end, they will leave us - with just one another. our goal is to still like each other @ the end of all the *parenting*. :-) i appreciate that brian & i share that vision within our marriage & it's NEVER a struggle to steal us away from garrett for a night, a weekend, a vacation, whatever...to be alone, to be with each other or with our friends.

we had a great time...stayed in Buckhead, ate out every meal, slept in both mornings, sunned by the pool, read, saw a movie, ate junk food (hello, i'm pregnant AND it's vacation), talked about how we missed garrett (of course, come on, we're not heartless!), talked about life with baby girl joining us, napped, etc. the only picture i managed to shoot of us is above...if you know my husband @ all, you'll know where we ended up for dessert on friday night (even though you can't see much of the background).

meanwhile, my mom was a godsend this past week...she arrived wednesday & then stayed w/ G all weekend (all by herself!). on wed, she gave me the gift of a 3 hour nap (am i really that exhuasted?) & on thursday, i snuck away for a mani/pedi that made me feel like a new woman. while she was in, she bathed & changed G every time he needed it, let him play with all the gadgets in her minivan (while it was parked in the driveway, of course), made him a sweet little jon jon for the summer & fed him every meal, made every snack, played outside letting him soak himself in his pool or via a water bottle every trip out! after brunch this morning, i'm not sure who was more sad to see her leave...us or garrett!
after brunch, we stopped for a few pictures...garrett (as you can tell) wasn't really into it. note how GIANT my babydome is! can't believe that little girl has more weeks of growing to do. she's a pushy one, i can already tell ya! kickboxing me 24-7! :-)

garrett & grandmom on the swing at kimball hall.

garrett's 18 months!

garrett's little personality has just exploded in the last month or two...we hear a new *word* out of him every other day. we find new things that he wants to explore or attempt just about every single day! he laughs @ himself, he loves making us laugh & mocking us.

one of the cutest things he's done lately is grabbing his belly & saying 'ow, ow'! he's doing this b/c baby girl really really really hurts me when she kicks me. truly, painful. garrett didn't act like that when he was in there! so...he scowls (but often smiles while scowling), presses both hands on his belly (or mine) & says, "owwww! owwww!" CRACKS us up!

he loves to play outside! & is such an active, sweaty little guy when we're out there. he's reached the point that he'll cry when we bring him inside. he loves to push light switches up & down, turn anything on & off basically.

happy 18 month birthday (yesterday, sorry we're a little late), little monkey!

(top photo: just playing in our bedroom one afternoon, G was totally laughing @ himself b/c he was playing w/ an old alarm clock & plugging & unplugging it...thought that was hysterical!)

check it out...not the first skinned knee, but the first one that bled all the way down his shin. poor baby!

still checking out that knee!

alright, mowing on...

@ our neighborhood cookout the kids were in a little parade...we didn't actually get around to decorating G's stroller, but he did manage to blow kisses all along the way to his adoring public.

G loves, loves, loves our sunglasses. this is his first *real* pair...last year's *baby* pair have the strap & he gets hung up taking them on & off - so needless to say, these are a hit - when they're on...or off, actually.

too bad that bubble mower doesn't really cut the grass!

so excited to be on the mow!

no joke...every day when B comes home from work, G is certain to make sure that B's bops (aka, socks) must come off. he takes off the shoes, pulls the *bops* off & then wants to shove brian's shoes back on. here he's pointing @ the shoes, ready to start the process. :-)